Man admits rape and religiously aggravated assault after court confrontation

A man who racially abused a Sikh woman as he raped her has pleaded guilty to the assault after being confronted in court by a member of the public.

John Ashby pleaded guilty to rape, religiously aggravated assault, intentional strangulation, robbery and religiously aggravated assault of the woman at her home in Walsall.

Ashby initially pleaded not guilty but unexpectedly changed his pleas after he was sworn at by a member of the public in Birmingham crown court. The 32-year-old, of no fixed abode, asked to see his barrister and changed his pleas about an hour after being sworn at and told to “sort your shit out” by a member of public who approached the dock.

The victim, who is in her 20s, was due to give evidence on Tuesday. Ashby, who wrongly believing the woman was Muslim, used Islamophobic slurs during the attack, calling her a “fucking Muslim bitch”.

The judge said Ashby had been “convicted of very serious offences” and warned that he was considering the imposition of a life sentence. It seems to me that anybody who commits these offences … is a very dangerous individual,” Justice Pepperall added.

Prosecution lawyer Philip Bradley KC told the court on Monday that Ashby had followed the woman, home in Walsall in October last year. The victim had returned home from work and had gone upstairs to change her clothes when she heard a noise downstairs, the prosecution said.

“As she was home alone, she had no reason to lock the bathroom door but now rushed to do so,” Bradley said. “She was too late.” Ashby barged inside where he strangled the victim before repeatedly religiously abusing her. Ashby told the women she was “dirty” and said he was her “master”, the court heard.

The ordeal ended after Ashby ran out of the house when he was “spooked by a noise outside”, Bradley added, taking the victim’s jewellery and mobile phone. There could be “no doubt” that the attacker was Ashby, the prosecution said, citing DNA and fingerprint evidence taken from the scene.

On Tuesday, body-worn police footage was shown to jurors on the day of the attack. In the video, the victim described how the attacker insulted her during the attack.

“He switched off the light. He said: ‘I just want fun with you.’ He said: ‘You are a fucking Muslim bitch’. I said: ‘I am not a Muslim, I am a Sikh,’” she told officers.

Ashby was arrested three days after the attack at an identity parade. The prosecution said he told officers: “You never see an Englishman in Perry Barr any more.”

During the police interview, Ashby replied “no comment” to all questions except when he was shown a picture of the woman, when he asked: “Why isn’t she wearing a hijab?”

The attack provoked fear among Sikh women in Midlands who said they had “changed everything” about their daily routines. The charity Sikh Women’s Aid, which is supporting the victim, said it welcomed the guilty plea.